Ms. Selene

As was customary, blue uniforms had set up a full perimeter outside the residence; whether traveling by carriage or on foot, no one could enter or leave at will.

Furthermore, inside the residence, some of the security company staff and waiters were actually police officers from the Hall of Order controlled by the Rangers. They formed a second line of defense, ensuring the target could not leave the venue.

This meant Officer Natalie Angel must still be in the venue.

Moreover, professionals had previously placed tracking signals on both of them, so it shouldn't be difficult to find them by following the signals.

Yet after searching several times, they came up empty-handed.

Only Lynch sat alone in a corner of the venue, his left hand gripping the shaft of his cane, holding it in a strange posture, while his right hand held a crystal-clear wine glass, quietly sipping red wine.

His female companion who had been by his side earlier, Officer Natalie Angel, had vanished into air. A group of professionals had been searching for ten minutes to no avail.

Where on earth was she?

At this point, Walker of the Rangers and Kelvin, the rank seven cultist, who had both been so confident earlier, could no longer sit still. Orders flew continuously from the shadows. Centered around the two of them, an invisible commotion quietly spread. People lurking among the guests and waiters moved under various pretexts, searching every corner of the Count's residence for Officer Natalie Angel's whereabouts.

Coincidentally, the Watchers' defense had noticeably relaxed. Even the security around Lynch had mostly been withdrawn. Their departure was just as abrupt as their appearance. Aside from occasionally popping up to cause minor annoyances to the Rangers as if teasing them, no further movement could be felt from them.

Even so, the news coming back to Walker and Kelvin consisted of one bad report after another.

Nothing, nothing, still nothing.

“Didn't you set a marker? How can you still not find her? Can a living person just vanish into thin air? Keep searching!”

Their expressions couldn't be seen in the darkness, but the fury in Walker's chest was clear from his voice.

Yet facts proved that she indeed could.

The Rangers had indeed placed tracking signals on both of them, but now only Lynch's signal remained. The other signal was gone most of the time, only occasionally flickering to life. But when they followed it, they were led to other invited guests, not their target, Officer Natalie, at all.

Even a cunning cultist like Kelvin was temporarily at a loss. He and Walker stared at each other, unable to fathom Lynch's plan.

What on earth was he trying to do? Where did he hide the gem?

Staring at Lynch, who was leisurely sipping wine in the distance, the two clenched their fists.

“Heh, let me know if you need help.” From the shadows behind them, a sinister voice drifted out, faint and elusive. “Although these little things are cunning, they still cannot escape my control. If I make a move, I can easily grasp them in my hand and help you retrieve the gem. But as for my request, hehehe...”

The two were not surprised by this, but upon hearing the final request, their faces instantly turned ashen. Their lips twitched as they gritted their teeth, seemingly muttering silent, friendly words. Finally, Walker took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, “There is no need for your help for the time being. We can handle it.”

“Then I shall wait patiently,” the figure in the shadows said softly. “Seeing how hard you are working, let me give you a hint. Based on my research on him, his behavior today has been off from the very beginning. There is definitely something wrong.”

“Siss, you are right. Thank you for the reminder. I have an idea,” Kelvin said with a frown. “It is understandable that he wants to publicly deliver the gem. Not only is it for fame, but delivering it in front of so many witnesses can avoid a lot of trouble later, and his connection to the incident ends there. But he shouldn't have been so high-profile about it. Normally, he should have concealed the fact that the gem was in his hands until the princess came out and then delivered it directly. Yet, not only did he not conceal it, but he was also so high-profile, as if he were terrified we wouldn't know the gem was on him. This behavior is indeed abnormal.”

“Mr. Kelvin,” Walker scratched his head in frustration. “Just speak your mind. It can't be more unacceptable than agreeing to her terms.”

“Indeed. On one hand, he made no effort to hide that the gem was on him, while on the other, he mobilized the power of the Watchers to prevent your people from getting close to investigate. This is actually a form of cover-up—a reverse cover-up. He is instead concealing the fact that the gem is not on him. Now that he realizes we might have discovered his goal and knows he is no longer useful, he has begun to keep a low profile, shrinking into a corner, holding his glass, drinking cup after cup continuously to erase his presence.”

In the darkness, the elegant Kelvin suddenly smashed his fist against a relief column, laughing in sheer anger:

“I finally understand. That cunning bastard! His sudden low profile was to cede the stage to that vanished officer. The officer's disappearance is the second form of cover-up, using her disappearance to draw our gaze and make us waste all our time looking for her. The gem might not have been on either of them from the very beginning. They are just public decoys.”

“Then the gem...”

“Mr. Walker,” Kelvin suddenly interrupted his inquiry, speaking rapidly. “How did your subordinates mark those two? By scent or light effects?”

“Those are too easily discovered and can't escape the Watchers' detection. We used mystery correlation. It's relatively complex, but highly concealed and accurate.”

“Then that's it. It shows that the flickering signal wasn't a false alarm caused by inaccurate information, but a concealed third correlated target that only surfaced after one of the primary targets disappeared for some unknown reason.” Kelvin wore a menacing grin and gritted his teeth. “Did those few times all point to the same target?”

Walker was stunned for a moment. He called a subordinate over, whispered a few words, and then said with a gloomy expression and a stiff voice, “It is the same target.”

“Who?”

“The count's daughter from Norin, Diana de Valente, a Soul Severer of the Church of Suffering.”

“The noble young lady who stepped up to help Lynch out of a tight spot at the last cocktail party?”

“It's her. Damn it! The files that almost leaked my connection to the Swelling Monastery were obtained by Levive through this woman. Inspector Bruno also warned me about her existence. I shouldn't have ignored her. The item must have been secretly brought in by her. Lynch drew our attention to buy time, while she...”

“Dong, dong.”

The sound of bells echoed over the venue, signaling the official start of the cocktail reception.

The doors of the residence slowly opened, and Princess Chloe, dressed in her finest attire, walked out toward the garden, supported by her maids. In an instant, all the guests stood up, clapping gently as they moved to welcome Her Highness.

In the crowd, a noble young lady wearing a light green gown and holding a folding fan walked toward Princess Chloe. She seemed to want to replace the supporting maid to make her entrance and deliver the opening remarks alongside Her Highness, demonstrating their intimacy.

The Count's daughter of the Valente family.

This action, which did not violate etiquette, drew everyone's gaze. In the darkness, Walker gripped the bushes tightly.

Damn it, we've been tricked. We're going to fail this time. What do we do?

“Don't worry,” Kelvin said, his face grim as he kept his eyes locked on Miss Valente's every move. “With me here, the gem won't escape. As long as she dares to expose the gem within my line of sight, I can teleport it over. Although we only have one chance and it will inevitably expose our intentions, the success rate is extremely high.”

“I'm counting on you, Mr. Kelvin.”

As they spoke, Miss Valente had already reached Chloe's side. After whispering a few words, she retrieved a small jewelry box from the side of her gown and opened it in front of everyone.

“This is the exact moment I've been waiting for. I want them to suffer this humiliation in front of everyone, to make them the laughingstock of all. Hehehehe.”

Kelvin's sinister laughter drifted from the darkness.

The moment the jewelry box was opened, a red light flared from within, but it vanished in a flash. In the blink of an eye, the inside of the box became dim and lackluster.

“Eh?”

A soft exclamation came from Miss Valente's direction. The noble lady looked at the jewelry box in her hand in surprise; it was already completely empty.

Not far away, behind the dark bushes, Kelvin, the follower of the Flicker, squinted and snapped his fingers. Then, a flash of light appeared in the palm of his other hand, and a crimson gem materialized.

“Hehe, I told you, with me here, the gem cannot escape.”

Kelvin smiled with self-satisfied composure, extending his hand holding the gem toward Walker:

“Please, our cooperation this time...”

“Is a complete suc... wait, no.” The moment Walker took the gem, his expression changed instantly. “There is no warmth. This gem is a fake.”

“What?”

“The real gem feels warm to the touch, but this one is cold. This thing is a counterfeit.” The massive drop from hope to disappointment made the muscles on Walker's face twist.

“Impossible!” Kelvin also lost his elegance, roaring in anger. “How could they have a counterfeit gem on them?”

“He must have prepared it in advance. Damn it, where did he find a counterfeit that looks so identical?”

While the two were raging in impotent fury, they saw Lynch in the corner finally put down his wine glass with apparent reluctance. He cast a seemingly casual glance toward their location, then held his cane in that strange posture, walking toward Princess Chloe with a calm expression.

They were finished.

Now, both Walker and Kelvin knew they had been tricked. The item was actually still on Lynch, only hidden away through some special method. Now, he was going to hand over the gem.

“Mr. Kelvin,” Walker cried out, his eyes bloodshot. “Can you do it again?”

“Impossible. The consumption is too great; there is only one chance.” Kelvin beat his forehead in frustration. “I see now. That fake gem was meant to draw out our trump card. The one he is about to hand over now is the real one.”

In an instant, despair and regret filled both their hearts, but it was too late to do anything. They could only watch helplessly as he quickly approached Princess Chloe.

“Pfft, do you need my help, gentlemen? I told you, as long as I wish, they cannot escape my control. Hehe, delivering a fatal blow right when they are at their most triumphant... now that is a very interesting story, isn't it?”

“I... Ms. Selene, are you truly certain you can help us get the gem?”

“What do you think? I have my own methods.”

On a bench in the darkness, a face half-hidden behind a round fan emerged, her seductive eyes sweeping playfully across Walker's face:

“As long as you are willing to pay that price, hehehe.”

Walker's expression twisted as if he had been targeted by a dozen burly men. He was on the verge of tears. Finally, gritting his teeth, he said, “Then I shall leave it to you, Ms. Selene.”

A soft chuckle came from behind the round fan. A slender, jade-like hand emerged from the darkness, gently clawing the air in Lynch's direction.